Do I take my verification to a ticket window and then trade for tickets? If I have bought sequencial tickets, involving multiple train changes, will the first ticket office issue me all the tickets or do we need to do this in every station? In many cases we hqave only 10 minutes to change trains.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Please idenitfy in which countries these tickets will be used. From where did you purchase these tickets?
Posted by
OP
Coquitlam, BC, Canada
23 posts
The tickets will be bought in Canada and used only within Italy.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Jana....who are you buying them from in Canada? Whoever your retailer is should be able to give you the proper instructions. Most likely, you should be able to pick them all up at an automatic kiosk or ticket window when you first arrive in Italy....but those selling you the tickets will have the best info.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Can you identify from your tickets, which type of train you are on. If a real live ticket, I think that you will see the train type: (Regionale, ICPlus, Eurostar, etc.) and the train number. For trains requiring a seat reservation, you will see an assignment for carriage and place (seat number).
Please advise if your tickets have a PNR (ticket booking code) on them. On mine, they are a six-letter code. The ones I buy are ticketless that I print out at home. I can hop right on that train. The conductor can verify my PNR number with his wireless PDA.
I need more info before I can tell what you are up against. As Norm has explained, the company that sold you the tickets should be able to tell you what you have and what you must do at the station.
Posted by
OP
Coquitlam, BC, Canada
23 posts
As I have not bought the tickets yet, I don't have all the info. But I willcheck on the site what their instructions are. I am starting to lean towards just waiting and buying them when I get there. Seems simpler and Rick says he does his research on line but never buys on line. Any thoughts from the travellers out there? Specific to Italy?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Not speaking for many of the other frequent posters, it is my belief, from reading their posts, that most of us do not buy tickets in advance except for great discounted fares which are only available in advance or night trains. Other than that, we buy them when we get there. We also don't purchase Eurail passes. When in Switzerland, I do purchase an authentic Swiss pass. I'm betting that there are hundreds and hundreds of posts on this site suggesting that travelers purcahse their tickets when they get there.
Please let me know if I'm out of line gang.
As a side note on Italy trains, North Americans simply cannot grasp the enormity of the train system. Try these facts from www.trenitalia.com. 450,000 travelers a day go through Rome Termini. 160,000 a day go through Florence. 400 trains a day arrive in Florence. This isn't AMTRAK. Jump right in. Go Italian. Buy your tickets there.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
One reason for buying in advance is the significant discounts that may be available. Right now, for example, Trenitalia is offering discounts of 60% on tickets bought online 30 days in advance.
Posted by
Omaha, NE, USA
33 posts
Jeff, does this mean that the fares that I see now when I look online (for May 12-26) will be considerably more when in Italy next month> thanks.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
For domestic trains in Italy, the price you see on the train runs is the standard fare. It's the same in Italy. You may not see fares on many R train runs. Once you select a run on the right side of the page and press Continue, you can see any advance discounts that are offered on the next page that appears. That doesn't mean that they are available. When you select a discounted fare, a button on the lower right will turn green if that fare is available or red if it's not.
It looks like Trenitalia is beginning to offer some deep discounts. There are limitations, however. Here's the scoop on the 60% off mentioned above from the Trenitalia website. Read carefully.
"From 1st April to 30th June the Super Offer-60% lets you travel with a discount of about 60% in 2nd class only (with the exception of the Milan-Rome section, for which a differentiated discount applies). You can buy it at least 30 days in advance and only: on this site, through our Call Center (fee-paying numbers) and with the ticketless procedure also from the approved travel agencies.
The offer is valid on the following trains and connections:
AV/AV Fast: from Milan to Rome and to Naples and return.
ES* Fast: from Rome to Venice Mestre/S.Lucia, Padova, Verona, Genoa , Rimini, Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, Lamezia T., Reggio C., Villa S. Giovanni and return.